Getting to Know Leonarda: Beyond the Job Title

Last we we spoke to Granit to get his take on the business, his upbringing and his love of wood, this week – it is his sister Leonarda’s turn!

You work for Woodcraft flooring in the London Office, could you tell us a little something about yourself and your job role?

• Similar to Granit I attended Kingston University for a Business Management degree, travelled to Vienna – Austria on a student exchange opportunity. During my time as a student I would work during the weekends with Granit and my dad, once I graduated I threw myself into building a career which I did successfully and still held my position at Woodcraft Flooring, but it became clear that working within corporate as just a number was not something I wanted and then decided to leave corporate London and work full time alongside Granit and my dad. 
  
• I took over all admin, marketing, operations and communication with customers, my work load has increased a lot compared to corporate London. However, working in your passion makes all the difference especially when you can help customers make the right decisions for themselves when it comes to wood. 
  

You have worked with some big names in the interior design world over the years, can you tell us how this came about?

• Word of mouth is how a majority of our biggest interior design customers hear about us, once they meet us and see our work they tender us for their projects. Our work ethic, professionalism and transparency is what makes us stand out from a lot of other flooring companies, we’re not here to churn products and call it a day, we exist to bring a customer’s vision to life for a product they will have for the rest of their life. 
  

Wood has been in the family for generations, can you tell me a little bit about how you were introduced to this growing up, and how it became your passion?

• Like Granit, we started working with my dad as children because he had trouble with his English and emails. We came in as kids to help out with the administrative tasks but also to learn about the business knowing that we would be the ones that would lead the business in the future. During the weekends we would leave the house at 5am to accompany my dad to the showroom in Beaconsfield. This is where we learnt the foundations of the business. 
  
• You can’t fake the passion for wood, both myself and Granit have naturally become wood encyclopedias because of the experience picked up as children but also the exposure of working with different people over the years you naturally become an artisan within the wood industry. The passion that we have is what leads all of our projects and makes us successful. 
  

When people come into the showroom, and don’t really have any idea what they are looking for, what kind of things do you suggest or ask to help them design a vision?

• My main questions are around the wall colours, furniture finishings, metal finishings, natural lighting and artificial lighting. I start from this angle because this gives me an idea of what colours are going to reflect into the wood, a lot of customers forget that even wood is part of the colour wheel everything is reflective and can change the whole look of a room. With this information I start with the Natural Clear range, then the Whitewash range and finish with the Rich Traditional range. 
  
• With this process I am able to narrow down 3 products that we then take to the customers property to discuss further, nothing is a rush especially when it comes to the finishing of the wood. Patience is key. 
  

Are there any famous floors that have impacted you and your vision?

• Personally the floors that have always left an impression on me is the patterns and use of wood from the pre-industrial revolution when houses in Kosovo were made of wood and the floor, walls and ceilings were all made of wood, the renaissance French period and the versailles era, these periods and use of wood is what has left an impression on me. 
  

Do you have a favourite wood or wood species and why?

• Walnut, Canadian Maple, African Wenge and Teak are by far my favourite wood species that exist. Each species offers a different natural finish which I prefer to leave as is and seal with a Bona Mega Lacquer or an Osmo Poly-x Oil. The grains and knot pattern in each of these species are different, some are cleaner like Maple and some are dramatic like Walnut. 
  
• These are my favourites because of character, Oak is so versatile and you can pretty much achieve any finish you want but when you are a wood fanatic like I am you tend to lean into the natural species that exist that come with character and drama.
   

If you could give one piece of advice to someone who is planning a new room, what would it be?

• My biggest piece of advice is to ask yourself the following questions;
  • What do I want the centrepiece to be?
    • The walls?
    • The furniture?
    • The lighting? 
    • The decor? 
    • The window treatment i.e curtains / blinds? 
    • Or the flooring? 
      
• Once you have determined what your centrepiece is going to be it’s easier to decide on the flooring finishing, but deciding on the wood finish first puts you in the position where other room decisions could clash. 
  
• And lastly patience is key, wood flooring is not a rash decision, take your time and make sure you seek advice from people that are truly passionate about wood flooring. 
  

Why do you think Woodcraft flooring stands out so much and why designers and contractors like to work with you so often?

• We stand out because as a family business we are part of every step of the process, customers including residential, commercial, interior designers and architects are only going to communicate with Granit, Leonarda or Mursel they’re constantly in contact with the people that run the business and understand the project thoroughly but also understand the industry. 
  
• We have a work ethic and professionalism that most of our customers applaud because we don’t do a job just for the sake of it we do a project to ensure we bring the vision to life. 
  

Thanks for your time, is there anything else you would like to say to anyone reading this?

• I always say wood flooring is like perfume, it’s an experience. Wood flooring can affect your mood, the way you feel about your home and how you view your surroundings which is the reason why I stress how much you have to take your time and be patient with your choices.